US candidates hit TV screens

John McCain is spending two days campaigning in the swing states of Ohio and Florida [Getty Images]

His Republican rival, John McCain, interviewed on Wednesday for CNN's Larry King Live programme, said he believed any issues of race in America would be eclipsed by the economic problems facing the country.

Most Americans would "vote on who they want to lead the country", he said.

Economic crisis 'temporary'

Earlier, surrounded by a dozen former military officers and national security advisers at a rally in Tampa, Florida, McCain told crowds: "The question is whether this [Obama] is a man who has what it takes to protect America from Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda and the other great threats in the world.

"Senator Obama is running to spread the wealth. I'm running to create more wealth," McCain told supporters in Miami.

"Senator Obama is running to punish the successful. I'm running to make everyone successful."

In North Carolina, Obama retaliated, saying McCain's economic proposals would be bad for America's middle class and would continue the Republican policies of George Bush, the US president.

"He's spending these last few days calling me every name in the book. I'm sorry to see my opponent sink so low," Obama said before heading to Florida for his own campaign events.

"By the end of the week, he'll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in kindergarten."

Florida, which has 27 electoral college votes, voted Republican for the past two elections but recent polls indicate that Obama is tied with McCain.

The candidates need to capture 270 college votes out of 538 in order to win the US election, as the national popular vote does not determine the winner.

Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Miami, says Florida is a "must-win" state for McCain, with 10 per cent of the votes needed to win the election, and his camp has been telling supporters not to trust the polls as they claim they can pull off a surprise win in the state on November 4.

Advertising blitz

The AP-GFK poll, released on Wednesday, has Obama leading in the state of Ohio by seven percentage points, in Nevada by 12 points, Colorado by nine points and Virginia by seven points.

All were previously Republican states won by George Bush, the current US president, in 2004's election.

In addition, the poll shows Obama is tied with McCain in North Carolina and in Florida, two states also carried by Bush in 2004.

Nationally, a poll by the Pew Research Centre a day earlier gave Obama a 16-pointlead among registered voters, with 52 per cent compared to McCain's 36 per cent.

Other nationwide polls have shown Obama holding a lead in single digits.